(Source of picture: Florida State Archives)

It cost only five cents to enter this Jacksonville movie theater.   In today's currency, that translates into about $1.00 -- Still a bargain! 

Dating from about 1905 to 1909, this busy photo shows the Savoy Theater downtown.  It stood at the northeast corner of Main & Forsyth, in the spot of today's seventeen-story Lynch Building, an office building from 1926 that is being converted into apartments.  In the lower right-hand side of the picture, an umbrella shades a street vendor.  The dome in the background topped the old city hall, located at the site of the present Main Public Library.  The sign above the theater reads "Savoy Moving Pictures."

In silent film days, Jacksonville's residents could choose from a plethora of flicks, since movies often stayed just a day or two at local show houses.  African Americans sat in segregated balconies, or they visited their own theaters for films and stage productions.  African American theaters included the Globe, the Palace, and the Lincoln.

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